Katy Pridemore played against some top competition with
Vero Beach this season, proving the talent that earned her a
committment to Florida before she changed her mind and opted
instead to attend Liberty University.(Andy Lewis)

South Player of the Year

Katy Pridemore, Vero Beach (Fla.)

Dominating the competition in Florida is one thing, but it takes
a really special player to do it against a schedule that included
seven nationally-ranked teams.

Pridemore was that type of player – and more. This year,
the senior attacker/midfielder also played through a knee injury
that required arthroscopic surgery after the season. Always
stepping up in big games, despite the pain and double and triple
teams, she was a player Vero Beach relied on during its run to a
ninth consecutive state final win and No. 4 national ranking.

The Liberty University signee finished with 76 goals, 40 assists
and 33 draw controls, an even the best teams in the country
couldn't stop her. Six of her goals came against national No. 5
Milton (Ga.), five at No. 17 St. Anthony's (N.Y.), four against No.
10 Georgetown Visitation and three at No. 2 Moorestown (N.J.).

Pridemore, who originally committed to Florida, was a three-time
US Lacrosse All-American and All-League first team selection. She
was twice named the Florida Dairy Farmers' "Miss Lacrosse" Player
of the Year and also was the 2013 and 2014 Scripps Treasure Coast
Newspapers All-Area Player of the Year.

SPOTLIGHT ON...

Kell High School (Ga.)

Longhorns coach Todd Utt said he knew his team could do
something special early on this season. He had no idea that would
mean 20 wins and the program's first state title.

A year after suffering a 17-9 loss to Charlotte Catholic (N.C.),
Kell accounted for the Cougars' only loss in 2014. The Longhorns
edged Catholic by two goals on March 28 as part of a 10-0 start to
the season, a streak that Lassiter (Ga.) ended with a 13-7 decision
– the closest Kell has ever come to the Trojans.

Six days later, the Longhorns beat four-time defending state
champion Westminster (Ga.), 14-9, and that's when Utt's team
started to believe.

"After the win against Charlotte Catholic, who beat us pretty
bad last year, and playing well against Lassiter, we were feeling
pretty good, but our confidence went through the roof after we beat
Westminster," Utt said. "We knew we could possibly make a run for
the title."

Kell had never even been to a Final Four before this year, but
got there with an 18-12 win over Northview (Ga.) – a game in
which Leslie Ferguson scored five goals, Haley Swift had eight
assists and goalkeeper Hannah Rosen grabbed 18 saves.

The Longhorns came away with a pair of nerve-wracking, one-goal
victories in the state semifinals and final, capping a near-perfect
season with an 11-10 victory over area rival Westminster in the
championship. Sarah Bialecki scored the go-ahead goal with about
two minutes left, and the Longhorns forced a late turnover to hold
on for the win.

"It was a huge step for our program being able to win that
game," Utt said. "Our goal was to make the playoffs and hopefully
win the state title. (Westminster) has been there so many times
before, and we were able to compete with them and actually beat
them twice so it was a huge step for our program."

Though Lassiter accounted for the one blip on the Longhorns'
record, Utt considered that game "a moral victory" and another sign
his program is headed in the right direction.

"That was the closest we've come since our program started 10
years ago," Utt said. "I think we're starting to close the gap with
them and starting to compete at the highest level in the
state."

Kell finished as the No. 4 power-rated team in Georgia,
according to LaxPower.com, and averaged 16.6 goals per game on
offense, while allowing 7.2 goals per game on defense.

Utt said there was nothing really unique about this group of
players, except that they seemed to play more as a team and share
the ball better than in the past. Their display of trust carried
them to a memorable finish, he said, but one the Longhorns hope is
just the beginning of more to come.

"It was a fun year," Utt said. "Going 20-1 was a great
accomplishment, but I'm just so proud how far they've come since I
started coaching them three years ago. It was not necessarily the
best-skilled team but the best team we've had since I started."